Monday, September 11, 2006

Spouse Inside Canada - Health care considerations

The Canadian Medicare system (Canada's national healthcare system - no relation to U.S. Medicare for seniors), while apparently regulated by the Federal government, is administered by the provinces. So each province has its own requirements for eligibility, waiting period if any, etc. Each province seems to also have its own website to help people immigrate there. Ontario's is excellent and is found at Settlement.org.

I don't know about the other provinces, but Ontario's system doesn't require you to have Permanent Residency status. According to the FAQ at Settlement.org , as long as you have filed a PR application and "have been confirmed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as having satisfied the medical requirements for landing", you can apply for a Medicare card. There is a 90-day waiting period. All this meansPublish that if we do an Inside Canada app, Nickie doesn't have to wait 12-15+ months for medical coverage (9-12+ months for her PR plus 3 more months waiting).

I don't know how soon the medical confirmation from CPC takes, but this is good news if we decide to do an Inside Canada app. Which, more and more, seems to be the way to go. Why pick up and move twice when we can do it once and be done with it? Yes, there's the risk that her app would be denied, but it seems like a small chance that will happen. Even so, what's the worst that could happen? We'd have to move twice after all?

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